The time may even come when the AHA takes on a role in making that possible (at least I hope so and think that would be appropriate.... do you?).

I do. But the AHA doesn't. They're afraid of being painted with the "moonshiners" brush. I think they feel that it will diminish their credibility in defending homebrewing, which is legal on a federal level.

Seems like a natural extension of the organization's objectives to me. The only big bright line I see is the federal legality and that's the one the AHA doesn't want to cross in their lobbying efforts. Our hobby is making booze. Why is distilling that booze verboten?

I can't speak for the AHA, but my feeling is that it's a separate issue. I don't have any problem with legalizing distilling at home, but I also don't feel it should be part of the AHA agenda.

I understand that is the current AHA/BA thinking, but as a member speaking to a Governing Committee member, Denny; I'd ask you (and the others on the Committee) to rethink that stance. There is a fundamental similarity between beer/wine/mead and distilled spirits. There is a large and growing number of BA professionals who are expanding into distillation. It's a natural step - professionally or for home use. Being able to distill the beer I brew or the mead I make is not a huge stretch, as long as it's for home use, not for sale.

As a member, I would like to see the AHA support this as well. Just my thoughts, but I suspect they're shared by many members. If we keep the topic open to discussion (not just here on the forum, but in general), I suspect that over time it will become a majority opinion.

I don't think distilling should fall within the purview of the AHA. I think there is a lot more general acceptance of beer and wine consumption than spirits, and I don't see the value in fighting the neo-prohibitionists on this topic. I think it would only take one kid with a poorly designed still blowing himself up for the AHA to lose a lot of credibility.

i don't think it needs to be part of the AHA mission. The AHA supports a legal hobby. There is nothing stopping our members from forming a new organization to pursue legalizing home distilling. I would wager many are members of other organizations that support hobbies. I don't see our resources used for this any more than I would expect a model railroad, gardening, cross-stitching, motorcycle, fishing, organization to be involved.

I don't see it as an AHA issue either. But, I did a search and as far as I can tell (and this is by no means perfect), no one up here in Canada has ever been prosecuted for making spirits at home. Selling, yes but never for making for personal use even though it's technically illegal. Has me thinking...

Seems like a natural extension of the organization's objectives to me. The only big bright line I see is the federal legality and that's the one the AHA doesn't want to cross in their lobbying efforts. Our hobby is making booze. Why is distilling that booze verboten?

You could argue the similarities, but it seems just as logical (if not more so) that an organization named the American Homebrewers Association would largely concern themselves with brewing. It is easy for me to say this because I have no interest in distilling, but choosing not to dilute the mission makes sense to me.

I would love to try my hand at distilling if it could be done safely and legally, and I can definitely see the synergy between homebrewing and home-distilling, but I don't think the AHA should dilute its focus by taking on distilling. We don't cover winemaking, so why would we cover distilling? If there was an overarching organization representing vintners, brewers and distillers together, that would be different.